Grammar for native english speakers

Hey Kim,

I know a milionaire who is running a blog without even following the simpliest rules for grammar. And almost all of his millions came thankfully to the blog.

So it is not something you need to focus on.

Regards,

Alex

EDIT: Maybe I said it the wrong way. Grammar is something important, but you do not need to spend all of your time on grammar issues.

If you start writing perfect English, most marketers won't be able to understand it.

Take Bill Oriely as an example.

He always has MORE THAN ONE BOOK on the top sellers list.

Do you know how he writes his books?

So a third grader could understand them.

Translation: You don't have to be a master technical writer in order to write to the masses.

Also.. About understanding grammar.. The best thing to do is READ.

Read as much literature as you can.

Just my $.02.

I'd say it depends on what you're blogging about, and who your target readers are. I find poor grammar / structure (and I'd be the first to admit that mine isn't perfect, either!) to be offputting in a document that's supposed to be authoritative in any way - if they can't be bother to fix their writing, can they really be bothered with the details of the product / service they're promoting?

That said, I don't think you need to go to the lengths you're suggesting, either - spending hours learning the ins and outs of English grammar seems overkill to me. There are plenty of simple grammar books around that should be good enough for most purposes. Just have a flick through some of them, then keep them by your desk and refer to them if you need them - that should be good enough, I'd say.

haha thanks guys!

I guess I don't need to completely know every single rule of grammar, especially when it involves blogging.

I have another question though..

If you're getting paid writing your articles (say writers in like fiverr), and you're a native english speaker, do you think that they will need to know the exact proper grammar every single time?

I envy you, Native English speakers because learning grammar would be easy for you unlike us where English is just our second and most of the time third language. The basic subject verb agreement is already confusing to us, how much more the advance lessons in grammar.

You can make millions without good grammar the downside you have to have thick skin to take all the nitpicking that will come your way.

One person said they read my newsletter just to see how many mistakes I make. That person has spent thousands of dollars by the way.

Microsoft Word has a built-in grammar checker - just use that. Here are Microsoft's instructions:

Word

1. Click the File tab, and then click Options.
2. Click Proofing.
3. Under When correcting spelling and grammar in Word, make sure the Check grammar with spelling check box is selected.
4. Select Show readability statistics.

After you enable this feature, open a file that you want to check, and check the spelling. When Outlook or Word finishes checking the spelling and grammar, it displays information about the reading level of the document.

What's the best reading level? I try to keep it down to a 6th grade level.

It helps to follow good web writing principles, like:

• Only 1 thought per paragraph. New thought = new paragraph.
• Use the journalist's "Upside-Down Pyramid" style.
• Avoid passive voice.
• Ruthlessly remove each and every unnecessary word.

Good grammar is the best way, but perfect grammar is not required.

For God's sake, don't use there if their is correct. Don't use here if hear is correct. Simple stuff like that will irritate me, and I believe many others. But stuff like passive phrase and such is going a bit far if you don't understand it, most others wil not either.

I would learn about grammar by doing one simple thing - reading The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White. It's a must read for any writer.

Then, I would follow grammargirl's blog.

When people make obvious grammatical errors, it sticks out. I cringe and I can't help it. It drives me crazy and I will likely stop reading the blog.

I also don't expect perfection, though and I KNOW that I screw up sometimes, too. I just don't want people to think "a whole nother" is actually a phrase, and I want people to know that "nother" truly isn't a word... Like I said, obvious things.

One thing I can tell you is that you're totally fine. Your posts really ARE grammatically correct so that tells me you know what you are doing.

I would read through Elements of Style once but don't be obsessed with it and then browse through grammar girl now and then just to see the common mistakes people make with the language and how to not do them. It really couldn't hurt.

I wouldn't take it any further than that because as a native speaker you know what you're doing on instinct.

It depends on the kind of audience you target by blogging. If you target industry experts writing something difficult for an average person, you should learn grammar to fit in their society. Otherwise it's not necessarily a challenge.

It's an interesting question. If you are writing a blog, you are trying to be casual, so while you want to follow BASIC grammar rules so that your sentences make sense, you don't have to be perfect. Again, though, you need a basic grasp on general rules; and this in no way excuses poor spelling or punctuation.

It really depends tho. Using some fancy words, having no grammatical errors might make you an expert in English but you're not trying to become a professor, are you? Its more important that people get the message you're trying to convey. its useless writing a 2000 words article if you fail to connect with your readers.

Sorry for my stupidity but is "this aint no high school" a correct sentence structure? people seem to love it!! well i wouldnt know coz i wasnt born in a native english speaking country.

It is content what matters and not the grammar. Although if you are a lot serious then add plugins like Ginger to the chrome. They will take care of the grammar itself.

Grammar is important but you do not necessarily want your articles to sound more technical than a Wikipedia article.

When I am not sure if something I wrote is grammatically correct, I read it out loud to myself, and if it sounds a bit off, I rephrase the sentence. It helps improve the flow of the article.

Hi, I was studying languages so this is how it goes. Studying languages (your own or foreign, makes no difference - you go in depths) means that one can know grammar better than natives, but still not been able to speak like native.who has the worst grammar/spelling education, This is why there is a rule (in publishing industry), regardless of the level of knowledge, no matter how literate author or translator is- text always with no exception goes to the editor/proofreader. Period!
I personally don't see any difference in blogging. You expect many readers, you plan to bring as many readers as possible, so the rule should be applied for your publication as for any other publication.

If you cooperate with editor/proofreader, your knowledge will improve fast. You learn very quickly what exact mistakes you are prone to (just ask editor to tell you and to give you brief theory)

Interesting topic, Communication is about language, while the grammar police may be on duty just about everywhere (including here) the truth is language is what sells, not perfection I expect that most writers even the more professional writers, could not pass a TOEFL test.

Its about how language is used now, not how it was used 50 years ago...

Since you're a native speaker, it won't be a problem if you don't speak with perfect grammar. Most people on the internet write in shorthand and speak in the vernacular anyway

I think using simple english works best. As they said, express your words like you're talking to kids. That way, you can connect with all of your audience easily. Nobody wants to listen to "lawyers" talk you know. Remember, not all of your readers have english as their native language. So you should also consider that.

Just write like you talk. No "ahm, like, you know, know what i mean" of course! I've found that it's also so much faster if you think this way. Plus, it just flows when I use this philosophy. Maybe it's just me because I;m not so much of a writer but I can talk a lot. It's almost like transcribing what I say. And it actually works because I'm quite a talker. Okay, will shut up now lol

But... of course the game changes when your blog is about grammar, language, literature, and related niches. It's hard to convince people you're an authority on something when your words give you away. So there. Good luck!

Depends on you audience. If you have a blog and are communicating with an every day reader, a casual tone is actually better. You want to connect with the reader.

Grammar is only part of being a good writer. The other part is developing your own style. It takes time and practice. Read a lot of whatever it is you want to learn to write and then start writing.

If you want to be a paid writer who earns a decent wage, understanding grammar is a need-to-know skill. However, no writer knows all the rules because they change from time to time. That's where style guides and reference materials come in handy. They are essential tools for professional writers. Most American journalists and magazine writers and many online content writers use the AP Stylebook. It's available in print and through online subscription.

If you're looking for a free, quick refresher course, the Contributor Academy at Yahoo! Contributor Network has a free course for online content writers. Anyone can take it. Level Two covers grammar, punctuation and some other areas you might be interested in.

As far as grammar check in MS Word is concerned, it's a great tool; however, it's not 100% accurate. Having used it for 20+ years, I'd say it's closer to being only 70% accurate.

Good luck with your writing career, Kim!

There are many free courses which will teach you how to improve your grammar and sentence structure (for example, check out Poynter University)

While it isn't absolutely necessary, it's certainly helpful if you're intending on guest posting and freelance writing in the future.

You can go to freelance sites and get someone to proofread for you. It will be fairly inexpensive and it is usually a writer that will do it, someone schooled in the art of grammar. But it would never be a waste to learn it. It is really becoming a lost art and should not be. Do your part in reversing the dumbing down of society lol. (I need to do the same).